On behalf of the millions of tourists who had travelled to
Portugal for the nation's most biggest event of the year - Euro
2004, i would like to thank the Portugese authorities, national
football association, tourism board and the Portugese people for
this fantastic experiences.
No doubt the whole event tournament is a great success.
There was a real party atmosphere and UEFA EURO 2004 has been a
very positive experience from a social, cultural and economic
perspective. The tourism and retail sectors have done a very great
job.
Portugal have also benifited hugely from this wonder organisation
of the tournament as their progression to the final had hailed the
impact of the country's image abroad and its tourist
industry.
The nation had been receiving feedbacks from all over the world
that the excellent organisation of the tournament, the good
atmosphere among fans from different countries and the friendly
welcome of the Portuguese people have all become trademarks of the
country.
According to the Portuguese Tourist Regions' Association, all the
host cities - with the exception of Lisbon and the Algarve region -
have been registering hotel occupation rates of 100 per cent - a
rise of 36 per cent on most recent years.
I would also like to thank all the fans of the 'beautiful game' who
invaded every streets and alleys of the city and contributed to
making the month of June an incredible and euphoric
experience.
- "Thank you Portugal" -
